The armored knight charged into the room, his armor exuding a dustlike smoke as he moved. It was Fountain magic, and Trynne sensed the speed and agility it gave the warrior despite its bulk. He engaged Captain Staeli first, making Trynne’s heart leap into her throat. Staeli, who had been fighting all night, was physically exhausted, yet he leaped at the warrior without hesitation. But the moment Staeli’s sword struck the man’s armor, the blade went red with cankered rust and then shattered. The impact made Staeli’s face go slack from shock right before the knight backhanded him across the face with an armored gauntlet. As he struck the ground, the knight plunged his sword into Staeli’s stomach, the blade shearing effortlessly through the hauberk. Staeli’s legs began to twitch and then he went limp.

“No!” Fallon roared, rushing forward past the ring of Oath Maidens. The knight turned his hateful gaze on him, and Trynne felt her world tipping over like a huge vase, about to crash down.

Fallon did not repeat Staeli’s mistake. He feinted with his sword and then kicked the knight in the chest. Fallon’s boot shoved the man back a few feet, but it did not unleash the strange dustlike smoke. The knight returned and started swinging deliberately at Fallon, who countered with his own sword and gave ground to the opposing warrior’s superior skill. Fallon focused on deflecting the blade and not counterstriking against the warrior. Trynne’s hand clenched the pommel of her own blade, feeling helpless as she watched the knight come after Fallon.

Fallon’s blade caught that of the other knight, their hilts locking together, and he kicked at the knight’s knee. From Fallon’s wince, the blow seemed to hurt him more than it did his competitor.

Fallon’s face contorted with anger as his opponent tried to leverage him back. Reaching out, he grabbed the front of the knight’s helm and yanked it sideways, trying to blind him. The trick worked, and Fallon managed to free his blade and retreat a step or two.

Gahalatine’s champion unstrapped the helm, pulled it off, and threw it down.

The knight was a woman.

She was tall, only a little shorter than Fallon, and as muscular and strong as any man. Her resemblance to Gahalatine marked her as a relation. Beautiful and fierce, she had dark hair that was shorn short and features that were a slight bit more delicate than the emperor’s. She came at Fallon and he defended, but Trynne saw the worry in his eye, saw how conflicted he felt about battling a woman to the death.

“He can’t win,” Drew whispered in despair. “He’s already lost.”